Variable volume breast pad



June 23, 1970 J. B. GREENOUGH 3,516,414

VARIABLE VOLUME BREAST PAD Filed June 20, 1968 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.6'

ATTORNEY June 23, 1970 J. a. GREENOUGH VARIABLE VOLUME BREAST PAD Z3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 20, 1968 Fig. 3

Fig. 5

R WY m N WN ,rR w m MNMT u A 0 K N E M 6 Q a u M v! w B United StatesPatent 3,516,414 VARIABLE VOLUME BREAST PAD June B. Greenough, 1523 N.52nd St., Omaha, Nebr. 68104 Filed June 20, 1968, Ser. No. 738,512 Int.Cl. A61f /14 US. Cl. 128-481 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Avariable volume breast pad suitable alternatively for cosmetic and forprosthetic use and that assimilates several characteristics of a naturalbreast, and in particular this invention provides a variable volumebreast pad that is exceedingly comfortable to wear, that maintains thedesired characteristics even when laundered, and that is adaptable tothe physical requirements of a wide range of female human subjects.

Constant-volume pads for assimilating the contour of a natural femalebreast are well known in the prior art, and such constant-volume padshave been used both for cosmetic purposes and also prosthetically bybreast amputees. However, constant-volume breast pads have the seriouslimitation in that they should be tailer-made appropriate to the relatedphysical endowments of the specific prospective wearer in order toprovide the desired cosmetic effects. Obviously, a tailer-made breastpad is apt to be expensive, and most female subjects are reluctant andembarrassed to consent to the tailor-making of breast pads forthemselves.

More recent workers in the prior art have provided variable-volumebreast pads in order that a single pad might readily lend itself forwearing by variously endowed feminine forms. However, the volumetricvariability of many prior art pads requires an uncomfortablefluid-impervious bag-like structure that is inflated to the desireddegree with pressurized air or liquids. Not only are suchfluid-impervious bag-like structures uncomfortable to wear andpractically impossible to maintain in a sanitary and cleansed condition,they are apt to leak and deflate and provide embarrassment to thewearer, and moreover, their fluid-impervious outer shell gives thebreast pad an unnatural appearance.

It is accordingly the general object of the present invention to providea variable volume breast pad that overcomes the several objections anddisadvantages of the prior art.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a variablevolume breast pad that will provide for a wide range of female humansubjects a contour closely assimilating that of a natural well-developedbreast.

It is another object to provide a variable volume breast pad that isreadily launder-able in aqueous soap or detergent solutions and that canbe thereafter quickly dried, both 'without impairing the shape of thebreast pad.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a lightweight variable volume breast pad that can be worn comfortably andunobtrusively both by those with under-developed breast for cosmeticpurposes, and by single or double breast amputees as an orthopedicappliance.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, which willbecome more apparent as this description proceeds, the variable volumebreast pad of the present invention comprises the novel combination,configuration and arrangement of elements, as especially pointed out inthe appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawingwherein like characters refer to like parts in the several views and inwhich:

ice

FIG. 1 is a forward elevational view of a preferred embodiment of thevariable volume breast pad of the present invention, showing inparticular the dual-panel front-wall construction including aninward-front panel and an outward-front panel.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view from the inward, herein leftward, sideof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rearward elevational view of the breast pad of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the patterned sheet material employed forthe inward-front panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the patterned sheet material employed forthe outward-front panel of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view taken along line 66 of FIGS. 2 and 3.

Variable volume breast pad P of the present invention comprises agenerally convex front-wall F having a continuous annular (hereinpentagonal) periphery, said annular periphery being disposed along anupright plane and being defined by stations Z, 18, 13, 12, and 15. Thesaid annular periphery includes for the minor proporations thereof asubstantially horizontal lower edge 11 having an inward (hereinleftward) terminus 12 and an outward (herein rightward) terminus 13. Theremaining or major proportion of the pad annular periphery commencesupwardly from said inward terminus 12, thence upwardly and outwardly toa zenith Z, thence downwardly and outwardly from the zenith, and finallydownwardly to outward terminus 13. More specifically, said peripherymajor proportion includes an upright inward edge 14 commencing at 12 andterminating at 15, an upper-inward peripheral edge 16 extending upwardlyand outwardly of 15 and terminating at zenith Z, an upper-outwardperipheral edge 17 extending downwardly and outwardly of Z andterminating at 18, and an upright outward edge 19 disposed between 18and 13. Upright outward edge 19 is loftier than upright inward edge 14whereby corner 18 is disposed vertically above corner 15. Moreover,upperoutward edge 17 is lengthier than upper-inward edge 16 whereby theintersection Z of edges 17 and 16 is disposed nearer to the inwardextremity e.g. 12, of pad P than to the outward extremity thereof e.g.13. Front-wall F has for the forward extremity thereof an apex A wherebyfront wall F generally resembles the contour of a natural female breast.

Breast pad P, including front-wall F, is preferably readily launderablein aqueous media, and for this reason sheet-like textile fabrics, suchas cotton muslin, are normally employed for front-wall F and forrear-wall R. A pair of launderable sheet-like panels, for example aninward-front panel 40 and an outward-front panel 50, joined together atdimensionally and geometrically similar seam edges 55 and 49, as bystitching to provide a dualpanel front-wall F. The upright medial seamS, resulting from sewing seam-edges 55 and 49 together, provides acosmetically desirable frontal curvature for breast pad P wherein apex Ais disposed along upright seam S. As shown in FIG. 1, upright seam Sextends downwardly from zenith Z and terminates between lower edgeterminii 12 and 13, nearer to inward terminus 12.

As alluded to in FIGS. 4 and 5, outward-front panel 50 is larger in areathan is inward-front panel 40, to provide the cosmetically desirablesituation wherein zenith Z and apex A are both nearer to inward terminus12 than to outward terminus 13. Outward-front panel 50 comprises fouredges including a substantially horizontal lower edge 51 providing theoutward and major portion of the horizontal lower edge 11 of front-wallF and thus the outward extremity 53 of lower edge 51 is disposed atperipheral corner 13 while the inward extremity 52 of lower edge 51 isdisposed at the lower extremity of upright seam S. Outward-front panel50 also includes: an upright outward edge 59 extending upwardly from 53and terminating at 58, said upright outward edge 59 being coextensivealong peripheral side 19; and an upperoutward edge 57 extending upwardlyand inwardly from 58 and terminating at 50Z, said upper-outward edge 57being coextensive along peripheral upper-outward edge 17. Fourthly andfinally, outward-front panel 50 has for the longest edge a seam-edge 55extending generally arcuately from 52 to 50Z, said edge 55 beingcoextensive along upright forward seam S. Seam-edge 55 has two portionsincluding a shorter and flatter lower portion 55M commencing at 52 and alonger and more-convex portion 55N commencing at 50Z, the intersection55A of portions 55M and 55N being disposed at the pad forward apex A.

Referring now to FIG. 4, inward-front panel 40 comprises four edgesincluding a substantially horizontal lower edge 41 providing the inwardand minor portion of the front-wall lower edge 11, and thus, the inwardextremity 42 of lower edge 41 is disposed at peripheral corner 12 whilethe outward extremity 43 of lower edge 41 is located at the lowerextremity of seam line S at 52. Inward-front panel 40 also includes: anupright inward edge 44 extending upwardly from 42 and terminating at 45,said upright inward edge 44 being coextensive along peripheral side 14;and an upper-inward edge 46 extending upwardly and outwardly from 45 andterminating at 40Z, said upper-inward edge 46 being coextensive alongperipheral upper-inward edge 16. As has been alluded to earlier, thelength of edge 59 exceeds that for edge 44, the length of edge 51exceeds that for edge 41, and the length of edge 57 exceeds that foredge 46. Fourthly and finally, inward-front panel 40 has for the longestedge thereof, and comprising at least four-ninths the periphery of panel40, a seam-edge 49 extending generally arcuately from 43 to 40Z, saidedge 49 being coextensive along upright seam S. Seam-edge 49 has twoportions including a shorter and flatter lower portion 49M commencing at43 and a longer and more-convex portion 49N commencing at 40Z, theintersection 49A of portions 49M and 49N being disposed at the padforward apex A.

Rear-wall R comprises a continuous annular periphery substantiallycoextensive along the said Z-18131215 continuous periphery of pad P andfront-wall F. Rearwall R is provided by a pair of substantially parallelupright overlapping panels 60 and 70 of launderable sheetlike fabric.Each of the rear-panels 60 and 70 has a continuous border, a majorportion of the border for each rear-panel being attached, as bystitching, to the frontwall periphery. A minor portion of the bordere.g. edge 68 and edge 78 for rear-panels 60 and 70, respectively, is anupright hemmed free-edge whereby the overlapping portions of rear-panels60 and 70 between edges 68 and 78 provide an opening or access G intothe breast pad interior having batting 90 therein.

Outward-rear panel 60 and inward-rear panel 70 are each smaller in areathan outward-front panel for reasons to be explained later. Outward-rearpanel 60 comprises four edges including: a substantially horizontallower edge 61 coextensive along and attached to the outward portion ofthe front-wall horizontal edge 11, 51; an upright outward edge 69coextensive along and attached to the front-wall outward-edge 19, 59; anupper-outward edge 67 coextensive along and attached to the front-wallupper-outward edge 17, 57; and the aforedescribed upright hemmed freeedge 68 disposed forwardly of and obscured by inward-rear panel 70.

Inward-rear panel 70 comprises five edges including: a substantiallyhorizontal lower edge 71 coextensive along and attached to the inwardportion of front-wall edge 50 commencing at 42 and 12; an upright inwardedge 74 coextensive along and attached to front-wall outward edge 14,44; an upper-inward edge 76 coextensive along and attached to thefront-wall upper-inward edge 16, 46; a downward outward edge 77 attachedto and coextensive to the upper portions of front-wall upper-outwardedge 57 commencing at 50Z; and the aforedescribed upright free hemmededge 78.

There is secondary stitching 80 attached between frontwall F andrear-wall R. Stitching 80 commences immediately below corner 18 andproceeding upwardly and inwardly substantially parallel to upper-outwardedge 17 and engaging panels 50 and 60 until the stitching reaches apoint immediately below zenith Z, and thence, stitching 80 proceedsdownwardly and inwardly substantially parallel to upper-inward edge 16and engaging panels 40 and 70 and terminates immediately below corner15. Thus, the stitching 80 which is spaced substantially parallel to andimmediately below the pad upper periphery at 16-17 provides a minorattenuated upper band 85, devoid of batting 90; said upper band isadapted to taper against the upper chest of the wearer in comfortableand cosmetically desirable fashion and tends to maintain the shape ofpad P.

A non-hydroscopic batting is removably disposed between front-wall F andrear-wall R whereby the volume of breast pad P, including theforward-rearward distance between walls F and R, can be varied at willdepending upon the amount of batting introduced into or withdrawn fromrear-wall opening G. Batting 90 comprises finite-length filamentswhereby the batting is subdividable into discrete or finite clumps, asindicated in phantom line in FIG. 6, and thus, small clumps 91 can beintroduced into or withdrawn from gap G and the pad volume can beincrementally varied. Batting 90, including sub-divided clumps 91thereof, is inaudibly resiliently-compressible to provide a comfortablepad P of natural characteristics including a cosmetically desirableforward contour at F. Further, batting 90 is preferably readilylaunderable with aqueous cleaning solutions, either separated from padP, and preferably so launderable and readily air-dryable even whendisposed internally within pad P. Batting 90, having the severalcharacteristics mentioned in this paragraph, can be provided byutilizing finite lengths of polyester resin Dacron filaments of veryfine denier (10-50 denier) and having a pre-compressed or normal battingdensity of about 0.05 ounce per cubic inch.

When the variable volume breast pad P of the present invention is beingused for cosmetic purposes by one having underdeveloped breasts, the padis only partially filled with batting 90 whereby the pressure of thenatural breast during wearing of pad P forces rear-wall R into aforwardly-extending convex configuration. However, when pad P is beingworn for prosthetic-cosmetic purposes by a breast amputee, the pad P isnearly filled with batting 90 whereby rear-wall R is normally rearwardlyconvex to give the wearer the required full appearance.

FIGS. l-6 of the drawing show the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention having a pad contour to be worn at the wearers left breastposition. To provide a pad for the wearers right breast position, mirrorimages of panels 40, 50, 60, and 70 would be employed, to result in therequired mirror image for the breast pad.

While the variable volume breast pad has been described and illustratedin conjunction with one specific embodiment thereof, it will beunderstood that many variations and modifications may occur to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A variable volume breast pad suitable both for cosmetic use and forprosthetic use by breast amputees, said breast pad comprising:

(A) a generally convex front-wall comprising a continuous annularperiphery disposed along a substantially vertical plane, said annularperiphery including for the minor portion thereof a substantiallyhorizontal lower edge having an inward terminus and an outward terminus,the remaining major portion of the front-wall annular peripherycommencing at the lower edge inward terminus and terminating at theoutward terminus of the said horizontal lower edge of the front-wall,said periphery major portion having a zenith medial portion disposedabove the front-wall horizontal lower edge, said front-wall having anapex at the forward extremity thereof, disposed in vertical elevationbetween the periphery zenith and the horizontal lower edge,

(B) a rear-wall comprising a continuous annular ,pe-

riphery substantially coextensive along the said con tinuous peripheryof the front-wall, said rear-wall being provided by a pair ofsubstantially parallel panels, each of said pair of rear-panels eachhaving a continuous border a major portion of which is attached to theperiphery of the front-wall, and a minor portion of which is anunattached free edge, the free edge of the two rear-panels overlappingeach other to provide an opening access into the interior of the breastpad, and

(C) readily sub-dividable batting removably disposed between thefront-wall and rear-wall whereby the volume of the breast padincludingthe distance between the front-wall and rear-wall thereof canbe varied depending upon the amount of batting introduced into orwithdrawn from said rear-wall openmg.

2. The variable volume breast pad of claim 1 wherein the lowerhorizontal edge of the continuous annular periphery of the front-wallhas an inward terminus and an outward terminus, said front-wallcomprising a pair of launderable sheet-like fabric panels including aninwardfront panel and an outward-front panel joined together at aforward upright seam disposed between the inward and outward terminii ofthe front-wall horizontal edge nearer to the inward terminus than to theoutward terminus thereof the forward-apex of the front-wall beingdisposed along said forward upright seam, said outward-front panel beingareally larger than said inward-front panel; wherein the two rear-wallpanels comprise launderable fabric; wherein the overlapping free edgesof the dual-panel rearwall are each upright with respect to the lowerhorizontal peripheral edge; and wherein the batting material isresiliently compressive and comprises non-hydroscopic resin filaments.

3. The variable volume breast pad of cliam 2 wherein the continuousannular periphery of the front-wall comprises an upright inward edge, anupright outward edge loftier than said inward edge, an upper-outwardedge extending upwardly and inwardly from the upper extremity of theoutward edge, and an upper-inward peripheral edge extending upwardly andoutwardly from the upper extremity of the inward edge, the saidupper-outward and upper-inward peripheral edges intersecting at a zenithmedial portion for said continuous annular periphery; wherein saidoutward-front panel comprises four edges including: a substantiallyhorizontal lower edge providing the outward and major portion of thehorizontal lower edge of the front-wall, an upright outward edgeproviding the upright outward edge of the front-wall, an upper-outwardedge providing the upper-outward edge of the front-wall, and a fourthand longest edge disposed along the forward-wall upright forward seam,said fourth edge comprising a shorter and flatter lower portioncommencing at the lower edge and a longer and more-convex portioncommencing at the upper-outward edge, the intersection of said twoportions of the fourth edge providing the apex at the forward extremityof the front-wall, said apex being disposed in elevation between thezenith and the lower edge of the front-wall; wherein the saidinward-front panel comprising four edges including: a substantiallyhorizontal lower edge providing the inward and minor portion of thefront-wall lower horizontal edge, an upright inward edge providing theupright inward edge of the front-wall, an upper-inward edge providingthe upper-inward edge of the front-wall, and a fourth and longest edgecomprising about four-ninths of the inward-front panel periphery andbeing a substantial mirror image of and lying coextensively along andattached to the fourth edge of the outward-front panel to provide theupright forward seam of the front-wall; wherein said dual-panelrear-wall includes an outwardrear panel and an inward-rear panel, saidoutward-rear panel and said inward-rear panel each being areally smallerthan the outward-front panel; the borders of said outward-rear panelcomprising four edges including: a substantially horizontal lower edgecoextensive along and attached to the outward portion of the front-wallhorizontal edge, an upright outward edge coextensive along and attachedto the outward edge of the front-wall, an upperoutward edge coextensivealong and attached to the upperoutward edge of the front-wall, and anupright unattached hemmed free edge extending downwardly of theperipheral zenith; the borders of said inward-rear panel comprising fiveedges including: a substantially horizontal lower edge coextensive alongand attached to the inward portion of the front-wall horizontal edge, anupright inward edge coextensive along and attached to the inward edge ofthe front-wall, an upper-inward edge coextensive along and attached tothe upper-inward edge of the frontwall, a downward-outward edgecommencing at the upper extremity of the upper-inward edge andcoextensive along and attached to the upper portion of the upperoutwardedge of the front-wall, and an upright unattached hemmed free edgedisposed between the horizontal lower edge and the downward-outward edgeof the said inwardrear panel with the free edge of the inward-rear panelbeing disposed rearwardly and outwardly of the free edge of theoutward-rear panel whereby the space between said hemmed free edgesprovides an opening access into the interior of the breast pad; whereinthere is secondarystitching attached between the front-wall andrear-wall parallel to and below the upper-outward and upper-inward edgesof the front-wall periphery to provide an attentuated upper edge for thebreast pad; and wherein the non-hydroscopic batting comprises polyesterresin filaments, said batting having a normal precompressed density ofabout ounce per cubic inch and wherein the filament denier is within therange of 10-50.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,301,260 1/1967 Ray 1284813,304,558 2/1967 Mann 336 3,348,241 10/1967 Dodds 3-36 3,401,407 9/1968Pittman 336 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3-36; 128-280

